University Librarian

The University of Windsor is a comprehensive, student-focused university with more than 16,000 students enrolled in a broad range of undergraduate and graduate programs across 9 Faculties: Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, Business, Education, Engineering, Human Kinetics, Law, Nursing, Science, and Graduate Studies. UWindsor has strong student-faculty relationships, exceptional award-winning faculty and innovative staff. With comparatively small class sizes and a comprehensive array of student services, clubs and associations, UWindsor provides students with a friendly and supportive learning environment. UWindsor’s strategic plan has five priorities that directly impact its students: providing an exceptional undergraduate experience; pursuing strengths in research and graduate education; recruiting and retaining the best faculty and staff; engaging and building the community through partnerships; and promoting international engagement. The university overlooks the Detroit River on one of Canada’s most beautiful waterfronts and is minutes away from North America’s busiest international border crossing. This location speaks to UWindsor’s strength as an internationally oriented, multi-disciplined institution that actively enables a broad diversity of students, faculty and staff to make a better world through education, scholarship, research and engagement. 

The Leddy Library is a thriving and progressive campus hub recognized as a valued partner in community success and as a catalyst for and a contributor to the University’s research and creative activity. The mission of the Leddy Library is to facilitate and transform learning, research, and teaching by connecting communities, within and beyond the university, to global knowledge in a welcoming environment. The Leddy Library is housed in two connected buildings with a collection of study carrels, classrooms, student services, and the largest computing environment on campus, which includes over 300 workstations. The Library has 63 staff members, including 22 professional librarians across four departments (Access Services, Acquisitions/Bibliographic Services, Information Services, and Systems) and has an annual budget of over $13 million. It has a collection of over 4 million items, including 1.5 million physical holdings and 935,000 electronic books. The Library provides access to 76,000 digital journals through provincial and national consortial licensing. The Leddy Library has been a leader in the use of open source technologies, open access initiatives, and the development of progressive policies founded on the core principles of intellectual freedom and equitable access to knowledge and information. 

The University of Windsor invites applications and nominations for the position of University Librarian.  

As a member of the University’s senior management team, the University Librarian reports into the Provost and Vice-President, Academic and is responsible for the strategic direction of the Leddy Library, while providing effective operational leadership in the management of human resources, finances, and facilities. The new University Librarian will collaboratively engage with an exceptional complement of librarian administration and staff to articulate a shared vision for the Leddy Library and ensure the Library provides support for research activities, core collections and innovative services to meet the needs of the entire University community. The University Librarian will actively build and maintain relationships across campus and beyond, as well as advocate on behalf of the Leddy Library to further the role of the Library as an essential component of the University’s academic mission.  

As the successful candidate for the University Librarian, you have a record of scholarly activity and senior leadership experience within a library environment. Candidates must hold an American Library Association (ALA) accredited graduate level degree and must be appointable at the rank of Librarian III or IV. You are supportive of innovation and transformation. You are knowledgeable of evolving information technologies tools and their impact on students, staff, faculty, and the broader community, and on teaching, learning and research activities. You are an exceptional manager who is collaborative, collegial and skilled setting priorities, allocating resources, and making decisions between competing priorities. As a leader, you have experience building, inspiring, motivating and encouraging strong and effective academic and administrative leaders, and in working with them to foster equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility to achieve institutional goals. You manage complexity and reconcile diversity of perspectives and viewpoints and are able make and stand behind important decisions when required. The appointment of the University Librarian is for five years, renewable, and is expected to commence July 1, 2021. 

Consideration of candidates will begin immediately. Nominations or applications should be submitted in confidence to Jane Griffith and Sam Walton at: sam@leadersinternational.com   

The University of Windsor is a welcoming community committed to equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility in its teaching, learning, and work environments. In pursuit of the University’s Employment Equity Plan, members from the designated groups (women, Indigenous persons, racialized persons, persons with disabilities, and persons of a minority sexual orientation and/or gender identity) are encouraged to apply and to self-identify. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority. 

In accordance with the provincial legislation, accommodation will be provided by Leaders International and the University of Windsor throughout the recruitment, selection and/or assessment process, upon request, to applicants with disabilities.